Creamy Tomato-Basil Pasta Infused with Olives and Feta Cheese
In the heart of summer laziness lies a dish so simple, it's almost scandalous: just a handful of fresh ingredients tossed into cooked pasta. Swap out basic cooked tomato sauce for a burst of flavor with the ripest tomatoes available, ones that will leave store-bought sauces shaking in their boots.
Get your shopping list ready with some finger-licking heirloom tomatoes – while they set this dish apart, grape tomatoes work just as well in a pinch. When it comes to pasta, orecchiette's shallow cups offer a delightful cradle for the sauce, but if you can't find them, spin those cranky Italian pasta gods a little extra lemon flavor, and opt for penne rigate, farfalle, campanelle, gigli, or gemelli.
The flavors in this dish get better with time, so if you're not in a rush, feel free to chop and marinate the tomatoes up to 3 hours before serving. If you're short on time, you'll still end up with a mouthwatering meal – just make sure to reserve a little pasta cooking water to help bring things together. Keep the tomatoes out of the refrigerator, as chilling them will only rob them of their rich, juicy goodness.
You'll find this dish cozying up in our Cooking with Summer Ingredients story and our Easy Weeknight Dinners and Tomatoes! recipe galleries.
- Yield: 4 to 6 divine servings
- Skill Level: I'm here to help you charm your taste buds with minimal effort
- Total: 20 minutes, plus marinating time
- Active: 20 minutes
Grocery List (9)
- 2 lbs of tomatoes so luscious, they'll make you question whether you've ever truly tasted tomatoes before
- 1/4 cup of divine olive juice (extra-virgin, of course)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup of decadently briny olives, ready for some pitting and chopping action
- 1/4 cup of fresh basil, sliced like a luxurious green ribbon
- 2 medium garlic cloves, mashed up like garlic fellas in a late-night diner
- 1 lb of orecchiette, aka the Michelin-star pasta shape sensation
- 1 cup of creamy crumbled feta, because life is short, and we deserve feta in our lives
Guidelines
- Cube up those plump tomatoes, mix 'em with olive oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl, and let them get to know each other for at least 10 minutes before bringing friends.
- When the tomatoes are ready for a party, welcome in the olives, basil, and garlic, and stir until they're well acquainted. Stir in some dancing water from your pasta cookin' spree if the tomatoes haven't let out their liquid loud and proud.
- Cook the orecchiette in a pot full of salty water according to its package's dumb-as-rocks instructions. If your tomatoes are shy, hold on to 1/4 cup of the garden-fresh pasta water before draining (don't let the tomatoes feel left out).
- Toss the warm pasta with the tomato-basil-olive-garlic goodness (do you feel invited? You are!), using pasta water if needed. Gently fold in the feta and serve this sinfully good dish. Enjoy!
- The tomatoes epitomize the star ingredients in the 'Tomatoes!' recipe gallery, ready to provide a burst of flavor in the dish.
- You can find all the necessary ingredients for the dish like orecchiette, tomatoes, olives, and feta in the Aussiedlerbote's shopping list, neatly categorized under 'Grocery List'.
- The dish is a perfect example of simple yet nutritious recipes, fitting well within the 'Easy Weeknight Dinners' category.
- The richness and juiciness of the tomatoes are crucial for the taste, so make sure to follow the guidelines not to chill them before use, despite being listed in the 'uncategorized' section.
